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Material Girls
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MPAA Rating: PG
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Entertainment: +2
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Content: +2 1/2
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Hilary Duff, Hayle Duff, Angelica Huston, Lukas Haas. Comedy/drama. Written by Susan Jansen, Amy Rardin, Jessica OToole, John Quaintance. Directed by Martha Coolidge.
Ava (Hayle Duff) and Tanzie Marchetta (Hilary Duff) are two spoiled, rich, parentless, young women whose biggest responsibilities are making sure their shoes are in season, getting into the right clubs, and, in Avas case, being engaged to the right TV star. (Picture life at P. Hiltons home.) Suddenly, the news media is hounding the celebutantes for something other than paparazzi pictures. A scandal has erupted concerning their deceased fathers cosmetics company. The girls assets are frozen. Their staff flees. Soon, their house and car are gone and the two young women who had the world in the palm of their hand find themselves with nothing but the couture on their backs.
Though the easiest option would be to let an arch-rival of their late father buy out their company, the girls realize theyre tougher than that and set out to get to the bottom of the accusations against their dad.
Actually, its a somewhat involving, if predictable story, the leads are attractive and tweener viewers receive life lessons concerning finding character within during times of trouble. Also, though the plot is ludicrous, the film does take a potent shot at the shallowness of a lifestyle dominated by money and possessions. The technical aspects are standard and the direction basic. So, though its not challenging or particularly witty, its not an awful movie for preteens. In this age of processed music and movie stars, older film buffs may, however, harken back to similar movies that featured more adult emotions and better acting (Sullivans Travels, Friendly Persuasion, Penny Serenade, Places in the Heart, Cinderella Man, Pride and Prejudice).
Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: MGM
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Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.
Crude Language: A couple of minor crudities.
Obscene Language: 1 s-word and 4 minor expletives from the older sister. I didnt catch any offensive language from Hilary.
Profanity: None
Violence: A crook is hit in the face with a huge book.
Sex: None. The girls dress in stylish clothing, but nothing overly revealing. One scene however, a parody on a scene from Erin Brockovich, has Hilary leaning over a desk, attempting to be alluring and showing some cleavage in order to get information from an awestruck geek. Though it was meant to be funny, the scene seemed inappropriate for the intended audience. It teaches little girls to use their bodies in order to get what they want.
Nudity: None
Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: None
Drugs: Hayle smokes in one scene. It serves to further the scene as the cigarette starts a fire and burns down the house.
Other: While I found the plot ludicrous, little girls in the audience responded positively, they being a new generation to adore Lizzie McGuire.
Running Time: 98 minutes
Intended Audience: Pre-teens and their older siblings
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